The present invention relates generally to wire harnesses for vehicles and, more particularly, to a flat conduit wire harness assembly for a vehicle.
It is known to provide a wire harness for a vehicle such as a sport utility vehicle or a pick-up truck. Typically, the wire harness is a plurality of wires that are bundled together and pass through portions of a body of the vehicle to connect electrical components together. Typically, the wiring content or number of wires is limited by the space designated for the wire harness. When the wires are bundled together, the wire harness often has a thick and round or elliptical cross-sectional shape. However, the space often available for the wire harness to pass through is thin and flat. Therefore, the wire harness would not pass through these spaces because of its elliptical or round cross-sectional shape.
As a result, it is desirable to provide a flat conduit wire harness for a vehicle. It is also desirable to provide a wire harness with a flat or rectangular cross-sectional shape. It is further desirable to provide a flat conduit wire harness that does not require changes in a body of the vehicle to allow the wire harness to pass therethrough. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a flat conduit wire harness assembly for a vehicle.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a new wire harness assembly for a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a wire harness for a vehicle that has a flat or rectangular cross-sectional shape.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a flat conduit wire harness assembly for a vehicle. The flat conduit wire harness assembly includes a plurality of wires extending longitudinally and a conduit disposed about the wires. The flat conduit wire harness assembly also includes a wire tie disposed longitudinally about the conduit to form a bundle of the wires with a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape.
One advantage of the present invention is that a flat conduit wire harness assembly is provided for a vehicle. Another advantage of the present invention is that the flat conduit wire harness assembly is that the wire harness has a flat cross-sectional shape, regardless of internal forces created by the number of wires therein. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the flat conduit wire harness assembly changes the sectional properties of the bundle of wires from round-like to flat without manufacturing new parts or changing wiring content. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the flat conduit wire harness assembly simplifies vehicle assembly with one hundred percent secure harness layout and usage reliability. A further advantage of the present invention is that the flat conduit wire harness assembly allows the wire harness to pass through tight spaces that would not be possible without changing the body of the vehicle or the content of the wiring.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.